African Copaiba
Daniellia oliveri

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 30-45 m high. The trunk is straight or slightly tapered. It does not have buttresses but the roots are fluted at the base. The crown is flat. The leaves have 4-11 pairs of leaflets along the stalk and one at the end. The fruit are flat one-sealed pods.

Also as Caesalpinaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in clay soils. It is in woodland and wooded grassland. It is resistant to fire. It can grow in arid places. In Nigeria it has been recorded at 200 and 900 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, Congo, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, West Africa

How it is used for food

The young leaves are used as a famine food. They are flavoured with salt or pepper or put in soups. The bark is used as a fermenting agent in beer. The bark is also used to make a tea drink. The fruit can be eaten. The seeds are eaten. The resin has a strong smell and is sweet and eaten like honey.

Edible parts

Leaves, seeds, gum, bark - tea, fruit, vegetable

How it is grown

It can be cut back and will re-grow.

It grows quickly.

Its other names

Local names

Accra copal, Becuncaro, Biecar, Bobe, Boto, Chiha, Ilorin balsam, Kameuri, Kede, M'beta, Ogea, Pau-incenso, Po-de-incenso, Rungulo, Sambam Ulungu, Samein, Santam-o, Santam-um, Santamo, Santan, Santango, Santani, Sanya, Si-bink, Tchebe, Tchene, Tchesi, Ucumbo, Untande

Synonyms

Paradaniella oliveri Rolfe;